At the Union Y, teen travel camp participants join their directors, Doug Mattoon and Lee Bertiger, rear, at the June 22 pre-camp orientation meeting.
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June 25, 2009
It was that moment some kids had been counting the days to — seeing pals from last year’s summer camp and getting that longed-for reaction to how they’ve changed: “Whoa (or other words to that effect) — is that XXX?!” You could hear the exclamations from all around the room.
For some of the gangly youths gathered at the YM-YWHA of Union County on June 22 — just two days before camp started — it was the third or fourth orientation they have attended for the center’s Teen Get-Away camps. They came for the first time as 11-year-olds just entering sixth grade, and here they are, full-fledged teens, high school students, and coming back yet again for the eight-week program of daily adventure trips.
This year, according to Y program director Jani Jonas, the excursions will include beach and water park visits, baseball games (Yankees, Mets, and Bears), a visit to the United Nations, another to Baltimore, lunch at the Culinary Institute of America, the latest Harry Potter movie in Imax, skating, bowling, museums, and much more.
The travel camp, which has been operating for about a decade, is one of the five summer programs the Y offers, ranging from Kindercamp for preschoolers, Y-HO-CA for the next age group; Kinneret, which has an Israeli focus; and Chaverim — with separate groups for girls and boys — for Orthodox teens. All the campers get to enjoy the boisterous input of a team of young Israeli emissaries, who add a taste of Israeli culture to the programming.
In a year when enrollment is slightly down — from around 480 last year to about 450, the teen travel camp is still just about at its maximum, about 35 kids, almost evenly split between girls and boys. The largest contingent comes from Springfield — for no reason they could name, other than great word-of-mouth.
“For the other camps, if people want to sign up, we still have some places,” Jonas said. “The second session starts on July 22, and for that one, we can definitely still fit kids in.”
‘Ideal members of society’
Ben Vaynberg, 12, who used to live in Elizabeth but now lives in Springfield, has been going to the Y since he was a nine-month-old baby. He started summer camp when he was six. But this is the year he has been waiting for — his first in the teen program in which he will be “going somewhere different every day,” he said.
Ben Vaynberg came with his mother, Rachel, to hear about the Union Y’s teen travel camp, which he is attending for the first time this year.
Photos by Elaine Durbach
The only part that worried him was the advice about eating a good breakfast, rather than stuffing yourself with snacks from the vending machine before embarking on the sometimes bumpy bus rides, and either bringing lunch from home or money to buy it. “He’s a very picky eater,” his mom, Rachel, said, and he nodded.
Ben looked on wide-eyed as the teen program returnees joshed with each other, reviving challenges from last year.
Four of the older boys are going to be “L.I.T.s” — “leaders in training” who will travel for four days but will have counselor training on Fridays. One of their age cohort declined to join them. He said, “This is my last year of being able to just be a camper, and Fridays are my favorite day — when we go bowling and work at the food bank.”
The Get-Away teens, like others in the Y’s Israel-focused and Orthodox teen groups, are expected to put in a weekly session of “giving back” with community service. Though it can be hot and tiring helping out at the massive Community FoodBank of New Jersey facility in Hillside, none of them seemed to object to it.
“We’re also back yet again,” said teen travel camp director Doug Mattoon, a teacher who has been leading the camp since its inception, gesturing to his fellow staff members. This is the first year with Get-Away for his own daughter, 11-year-old Jackie.
“I’m pretty easy-going and I don’t expect 13- and 14-year-olds to be angels,” he said — but added that he doesn’t want to have to worry about any inappropriate behavior on the bus.
“We’ll all be ideal members of society,” one of the veteran campers called back. That was greeted with skeptical guffaws. But, as Mattoon has said, they actually have very little trouble with the teens.
Assistant director Lee Bertiger provides the “mom” side to the team. She told the assembled parents and kids, “We also look forward to returning year after year. This is a privilege for us too, to be in this position.”
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